Defenders of the Realm

by Dave Willmarth

  Almost immediately dozens of undead with edged weapons turned toward the tree from which the shot had come. They encircled the trunk and began to hack away with swords, knives, even a cleaver. The swings were uncoordinated and didn’t have much strength behind them. And more than a few of the weapons took chunks out of neighboring allies, who shrugged it off and kept chopping. The sheer number of attacks began to whittle away at the trunk. They kept it up, untiring, while the rest of the army stood still.

  “Whoever’s in that tree get out now!” Alexander called out, in his loudest voice. A few seconds later a shrill whistle pulled his attention to a nearby tree, where Lorian was standing on branch waving. He quickly disappeared deeper into the green leaves.

  The defenders on the wall watched as the undead forces slowly murdered the elder giant. Alexander watched as the trunk began to sway forward and back slightly. The massive branches rubbed against the branches of other trees. With a start, Alexander had a thought that sent a chill through him. In raid chat he said “They weren’t after Lorian! They’re going to drop the tree on us!”

  He made a rough guess as to the height of the tree, and its distance from the wall. The tree was tall enough to fall upon the enclosure. The massive weight of the trunk and thick branches would come crashing down atop the hill, crushing his stone overhang and many of his people below.

  Sasha came to the same conclusion just a second before he did. “Retreat! Everyone inside, now! You know the order. Group 1 go!”

  One by one the groups broke off from the wall and dashed across the courtyard into the mine entrance. Alexander could already tell they weren’t going to get everybody inside before the tree fell. It was wobbling as its trunk was whittled away by the enemy.

  He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself, watching the movement of the tree as he timed out his plan. He watched as it leaned toward him, the sound of splintering wood cracking through the forest. When its momentum stopped and began to tilt away, he used his Levitation magic and pushed the trunk as hard as he could away from him. He channeled his mana and kept pushing, even when the tree stopped moving and tried to rock back toward him. He effectively pinned it on the outswing and held it there.

  Sasha saw what he was doing and called out “No time! Everybody inside! Now!”

  Sweat poured out of Alexander as he continued to channel his mana and push against the weight of the massive tree. The undead at the base of the trunk actually did him a favor. Continuing to chop at the remaining wood of the trunk, they lessened the strain of the connective fibers that were trying to pull the thing back toward the mine and the Elysians.

  Ten seconds later Alexander’s mana ran out. He released the channeled spell with a gasp and watched as the tree swung back in their direction. He quickly gulped a mana potion as the slow-motion tree moved toward its inevitable destination. It reached vertical, then tilted toward the hill and the mine. The popping sounds of the wood snapping grew louder until with a final ear-splitting crack the trunk separated from the stump. Still the tree leaned slowly, its wide branches entangled with those of the other trees keeping it from gaining much momentum.

  Alexander watched fascinated as the giant thing came crashing slowly down upon him. There wasn’t time to run for the mine. He watched until Sasha shouted at him, then teleported himself to a spot just outside the mine entrance. Behind and above him, the slow fall of the tree came to a stop as it struck the stone overhang he’d just constructed.

  He turned to see the wide stone columns shudder and crack under the impact. The stone above rained down dust and chunks that had broken loose as the tremendous weight pressed down from above.

  But the overhang held! It groaned and complained as the tree rocked back and forth, settling into a new position as branches snapped under the weight. More dust and debris fell, yet still the stone held.

  Alexander looked to Sasha, who shook her head. Neither of them had enough faith in the structure to send their people back out to the wall. A strong breeze might cause a collapse. Instead, Alexander teleported himself back to his previous spot. From there he could see that the next wave of undead had begun to advance. He reported as much to Sasha and the others.

  Sasha said “At this point, I say we give up on the walls and just defend the entrance. Let’s turtle up and make them come to us.”

  Alexander’s gaze was drawn to the massive trunk that rose up over the wall and disappeared above the overhang nearby. He was tempted to cast Wizard’s Fire on some of the oncoming horde, but he needed to let his mana regenerate. Instead he drew his bow and fired a dozen or so light-blessed arrows into the horde. Behind him he heard cheers for his act of defiance.

  When he saw that the enemy had nearly reached the wall below, he took a step back and began to climb down to the courtyard. By the time he was down, the first few undead were cresting the top of the wall. They used no ladders or ropes. They simply piled themselves against the wall, and those behind climbed over top of them like ants. As he retreated into the mine entrance, he stopped at the head of the funnel. Turning to face the outer walls, he used Earth Mover to liquefy the stone in a wide section where the concentration of undead was highest. Those atop the wall fell into the liquid as it poured down over those piled up outside like a mudslide.

  Some of the undead bodies were simply crushed under the weight. Others were washed back from the wall and bogged down in the liquid stone. Alexander quickly solidified it, trapping maybe eighty or ninety of the creatures where they lay or stood.

  This, of course, opened a wide section of the wall for the enemy to pour through as soon as the stone underfoot was solid. Hundreds of the creatures shambled through the breach and headed straight for the mine entrance.

  Alexander moved back along with Sasha and Brick. They passed through the funnel, and Brick turned to block the passage. He raised his shield along with Lugs, the rock troll whose name Alexander didn’t know, Warren, Grumpy, Pollock, and two of his men. Behind them, two rows of dwarves stood ready to support the front line. Shields were held up at the tanks’ backs and spears were made ready to stab over their shoulders into the faces of the foes.

  Sasha glanced at Alexander and noted that he was smiling to himself. “What’s so funny?” she asked, not amused in the least. They could probably handle this army without serious losses, but it was no joke.

  Alexander was about to answer when the first of the undead soldiers impacted the tanks’ shields. The initial impact wasn’t severe, as the creatures moved too slowly for much momentum. The danger came a few moments later as the sheer weight of hundreds of zombies pressing themselves through the funnel and pushing against those ahead bore down upon the tanks.

  Brick shouted “Push!” and the rows behind them helped heave the undead line backwards a step. Then spears shot forward from the second row, and maybe ten of the enemy took fatal blows to the head. The inert corpses dropped to the floor only to be replaced by more. Brick and the others took a step back and prepared to repeat the maneuver.

  Alexander raised himself slightly so he could see over the melee. The funnel was already packed tightly with straining corpses trying to push their way in. Behind them the courtyard was filling quickly with hundreds more. They were pouring slowly through the gap in the wall like molasses leaking from a jug. Just for fun, Alexander lit a few of them with Wizard’s Fire. It spread quickly as the tightly pressed corpses pushed against each other. He did the same inside the funnel, and within moments dozens of the zombies were burning.

  Brick and the front rows pushed and stabbed, hammered and stepped back. Time after time over the next couple of minutes. Alexander didn’t use Wizard’s Fire on the front few rows of the creatures, because only Brick would be immune to the flame. His people were going to get tired soon, and would need to retreat. He decided to give them a little morale boost before they did, and distract the enemy at the same time.

  Looking out toward the walls, he saw that the courtyard was now nearly full. Only a few s
tragglers were still pushing through the gap. With a grin, he gave a warning in raid chat. “Everybody outside hold onto something. Everybody inside, watch for falling rocks!”

  He waited five seconds, then reached out again with his Earth Mover skill. He liquefied sections at the base of both the columns in the courtyard. It took a moment, but the columns holding up the roof and the giant tree slid off their bases and collapsed. The immense slabs of stone and heavy tree branches came thundering down. Nearly half of the remaining undead army was trapped outside and crushed under the falling debris.

  Level up! You are now level 65!

  Your wisdom has increased by +1.

  Your intelligence has increased by +1

  You have 20 free attribute points available

  Everything came to a halt as dust and leaves blasted in through the mine entrance past undead and defenders both. There was much coughing and blinking as his people tried to clear their vision and get a lungful of clean air. The undead, mostly unaffected, managed to push through the partially blinded line of tanks. A breach opened, and the weight of the crowd behind them widened the gap. Several of the dwarves in the second and third ranks were now set upon with claw and sword. The healers were still recovering as well, so heals were slow to come.

  Brick had the sense to activate his Serpent’s Screech ability by dragging his hammer across his legendary shield. Every enemy within forty yards turned its attention to him. This gave the other dwarves precious seconds to recover their sight and regroup. The zombies behind the front line were quickly dispatched with sword and spear, and the tanks were able to close the gap. Sasha, finally able to see clearly through the dust cloud, began to shout.

  “Everyone fall back to the next blockade! Tanks, hold for 2 minutes, then retreat!”

  She passed by Alexander and paused to slap the back of his head. “Almost got us all killed there, genius!”

  Alexander, already abhorred by the fact that he’d made such a mistake, took it badly. “You think I don’t know that?” he growled at his best friend. Not waiting for a response, he drew his sword and teleported himself to a clear spot near the mine entrance. He was now behind enemy lines. Everything farther outside had been crushed, and all the undead were facing away from him toward the tanks. He held his sword out in front of him, pointed toward the enemy, and closed his eyes.

  He had only recovered about a half of his mana , but he channeled his Ray of Light spell through the divinely blessed sword. The result was a beam of light magic that blasted through the backs of the undead ranks. He kept up the spell as he dragged his blade across in an arc that burned enemy after enemy. The damage wasn’t limited to those nearest the back. The beam found openings between or through rotting bodies and hit as far in as the middle of the pack. Many of the necromancer’s minions turned to deal with the new threat, and in doing so lessened the pressure on Brick and the other tanks. Alexander backed slowly out of the entrance. He ceased the casting, needing to save enough mana to teleport. But he held off. Brandishing his sword he sliced at any creatures who got too close as he backed over the rubble behind him.

  The magic in his blade, killed every mob it touched. Even what would have been minor blows to arms and legs caused the dark life force to leave the targets. Alexander began to feel invincible, roaring at his enemies as he cut them down one or two at a time. Adrenaline shot through his system and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears.

  Another step backward and his foot was snagged on something. Looking down he saw that not every undead minion that had been crushed was destroyed. A boney hand with desiccated flesh still clinging to its fingers here and there, had latched onto his ankle. He barely had time to register this before his momentum caused him to fall backward over a rough-edged boulder. Instantly his pursuers began to latch onto him. Grabbing a leg, and an arm, or just falling on top of him in an attempt to hold him down. He poked frantically with his sword, killing them as quickly as they approached. But the lifeless bodies were falling on top of him more often than not. And as an elf, he didn’t have the strength to push them off. He felt sharp teeth biting at his legs, and a rusty sword slid into his gut after first penetrating the zombie laying across him.

  His health bar dropping quickly, he tried to teleport himself away. But whether it was the sword still stuck inside him, or the weight of the corpses atop him, the spell failed. He thrashed about furiously, his stamina fading quickly. He managed to free his off-hand long enough to yank the sword free of his stomach. The pain nearly caused him to pass out. His health bar now down to 20%, he tried to teleport again.

  This time the spell worked, and he appeared on the floor of the mine where he’d been standing previously.

  His next problem was, that spot was no longer friendly territory. While he’d been distracting the mobs, his people had retreated. The space he was in was now filled with undead that had pushed through the funnel and were moving to press the tanks at the next choke point.

  It wasn’t safe for him to teleport himself behind his lines, as he didn’t know who was standing where. Teleporting oneself into occupied space would kill both the caster and the unfortunate bystander. So he did the next best thing. He pictured the room where they’d held Grik and his kobolds for a time, and was about to teleport himself there when an undead wolf latched onto his ankle and began to shake its head savagely. Alexander felt bones crunch as the things jaws worked into his flesh. Blood splattered the wall nearby, and he groaned in pain. He used his sword to cut deeply into the wolf’s neck, killing it instantly. Other undead were taking note of his presence and moving to attack. With his free foot he kicked at the wolf’s head, trying to free his ankle from its jaws. It took three solid kicks before he was free. He managed to teleport himself just as a jaggedly broken sword was falling toward his head.

  Appearing in the room he’d envisioned, he wasted no time reaching for a health potion. His health bar was down to 10%, and he was both bleeding and poisoned. The combined damage over time effects were draining him at about 1% per second.

  Fumbling open one of his rapid regeneration potions, he gulped it down. The quick boost to his health gave him a few more seconds. He found and swallowed a cure poison potion, then a mana potion. Immediately he began to cast light magic heals on himself. The bleeding stopped, and his health bar moved back up to about 20%.

  Exhausted from the physical combat and the struggle to get free, he laid back and breathed hard for a minute or so. He knew he needed to get back to the battle, but his shame over the ridiculous mistake that had nearly cost his people many lives was crippling him. He couldn’t face them. He checked his UI and saw three grey names. One was Beatrix, the other two were citizens who had died.

  If those deaths were my fault, if they died because I was trying to be clever, how can I stand before them as a king? It’s supposed to be my job to protect them.

  He got to his feet and began to pace back and forth, his mind racing. He thought about how he’d react if he were watching himself play the game, or as a character in a movie. His usual thoughts of ‘this is just a virtual game, they are just code’ never entered his mind.

  Suck it up, buttercup! It’s a war, and soldiers die. Deal with the guilt later. Standing around here feeling sorry for yourself might get more of your people killed. Get your ass back in the fight!

  Chapter 12

  Fake It ‘Till You Make It

  He left the room and began to run back up the shaft to where the fight was still underway. His collapsing of the roof had killed a significant number of the enemy, but there were still several hundred to deal with. When he arrived at the rear of his army, he saw Sasha and the healers standing off to one side. All were focused on the front rows of the battle, and were furiously casting healing spells.

  Sasha noticed him almost immediately. She cast a big heal on him as she shouted “Hey! We need another fallback, dipshit! Where have you been?”

  Declining to explain that he’d been hiding in shame, Alexand
er retraced his steps and quickly pulled a third choke point from the surrounding stone. The moment it was complete, Sasha called “Retreat to the next fallback position! Now!”

  The rear ranks of the army, who’d mostly had little to do since they entered the mine, quickly turned and dashed back through the funnel. The healers stayed put while the majority of the fighters cleared the area. Alexander could see that his front lines were being challenged, occasionally the undead forces were sneaking past the tanks; to cause trouble in the secondary lines.

  Alexander ran forward, shouting in raid chat “Brick! Lugs! Get ready to push! I’m going to take some of the pressure off!”

  As soon as he was within range, he used his Earth Mover skill again. He liquefied the stone that covered the trench he’d created between choke points. Instantly, the undead minions that had been pressing against the backs of those already inside the 2nd choke point fell into the trench. The massive pressure of the bodies pushing toward the tanks was relieved somewhat.

  Now standing right behind the tanks, he shouted. “On three! One… two… THREE!”

  Lugs turned his six-foot high tower shield sideways and stepped forward, using his ogre’s bulk and muscle to shove the undead backward. The rock troll copied his movements. Brick and the other tanks, as well as the line of dwarves behind them, all pushed forward. The mass of undead bodies pressing against them were forced backward several steps, causing a few dozen in the back to fall into the trench.

  Brick shouted “Back!”

  The defenders all broke contact with the enemy. The hundred fifty or so slow-moving undead that remained between the tanks and the trench moved to follow. But they were slow compared to the Elysians. The dwarves of the second and third ranks scooped up the two bodies that had fallen and hurried to join the others. Brick and the tanks backed away quickly, still facing the oncoming enemy. As the gap widened, Alexander cast Wizard’s Fire on several of the undead. He chose one rotting human warrior near the back and lit it on fire, then used his Levitate spell to lift the creature and toss it into the trench. He doubted the fire would kill anything, but it might slow them down. Already the enemy were climbing out of the trench and advancing.